Box Score AIKEN, S.C.--The Kennesaw State Lady Owls (12-9, 4-6 PBC) pounced on USC Aiken (16-8, 6-4 PBC) out of the gate and held off a second half rally to hand the Lady Pacers an 85-74 loss in women's Peach Belt Conference basketball on Monday night at "The Courthouse". The loss snapped an 11-game home court winning streak. The game, originally scheduled for January 8, was postponed in the wake of the Graniteville train tragedy. 

Shavonder Clarke, the reigning PBC Player of the Week, poured in 25 of her game-high 36 points in the second half. Malgorzata Morka added 23. 

Morka's second triple of the game opened up a 19-4 spread just 6:12 into the game, putting the Lady Pacers in a deep hole before they even knew what hit them. 

Nola Grant scored six-straight points to trim the margin to 31-19 with 5:28 remaining, but that was as close as USCA would get in the first half. Lauren Harris' jumper capped a 9-0 run and gave KSU its largest lead of the game 39-19 with 3:46 on the clock. 

Grant scored 10 of the Lady Pacers' first 19 points and finished with a team-high 19 on 8-of-13 from the field. 

Morka registered 17 in the opening stanza on 5-of-6 from the three-point line. As a team, the Lady Owls drained 6-of-14 from deep (42.9 percent) while USCA was 0-of-4 in the first half. After giving up just 18 field goals for the entire game in Saturday's 64-54 win over Armstrong Atlantic State, the Lady Pacers surrendered 16 in the first 20 minutes. 

A team determined to defend their turf took the floor for the Lady Pacers in the second stanza. The Lady Pacers connected on 11 of their first 12 shots from the field for a scorching 91.7 percent. Grant scored five-straight including a three-point play with 12:45 remaining to cap a 21-5 run putting USCA on top 50-49 for the first time since it was 2-0. Kasey Mills added eight points during the run. 

With the game tied 63-63 with 7:12 on the clock, Clarke drilled a three-pointer to finish off a 7-0 run and put the Lady Owls back in control 70-63 with 5:56 to play. 

Mills' put back of a Lana Mandic three-point attempt with 3:36 pulled USCA within a bucket at 72-70, but Kennesaw State hit 9-of-10 free throws the rest of the way to close the game on a 13-4 run and seal the 85-74 win. 

For the game, KSU was 20-of-25 at the stripe for 80.0 percent. USCA was 5-of-12 in the first half, but 9-of-10 in the final 20 minutes to finish at 63.6 percent. 

Mills scored 14 of her 16 in the second half on 2-of-5 from deep and 4-of-4 at the line to go with a career-high 12 rebounds and her first double double. Mandic added 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting. 
Point guard Mindy Allee tied Jami Cornwell's school record with 12 assists in the game. As a team, USCA dished out a season-best 26 helpers. 

Harris, the nation's leading shot blocker, swatted six shots to go with 10 points. Dominika Mieszowska handed out 10 assists for KSU. 

USC Aiken will travel across the Savannah River to take on archrival Augusta State on Wednesday, February 9 at 5:30 PM in a battle for the lead in the Peach Belt Conference North Division. Lady Pacer head coach Mike Brandt will try for win number 50. Kennesaw State will host Clayton State also on Wednesday at 5:30 PM. 

Newspaper Box Score
Kennesaw State vs USC Aiken
02/07/05 5:30 PM at Aiken, S.C. (The Courthouse)

KENNESAW STATE 85, USC AIKEN 74

KENNESAW STATE (12-9, 4-6 PBC)
Clarke, Shavonder 12-23 9-10 36; Morka, Malgorzata 6-13 6-6 23; Harris, Lauren 5-7 0-1 10; Scearce, Stephanie 2-7 2-4 6; Galbiati, D.J. 1-1 2-2 5; Bates, Danielle 1-7 0-0 2; Mieszkowska, Dominik 1-5 0-0 2; Smith, Leslie 0-0 1-2 1; Gurley, Nikki 0-1 0-0 0; Robinson, Jade 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-64 20-25 85.

USC AIKEN (16-8, 6-4 PBC)
Grant, Nola 8-13 3-4 19; Mills, Kasey 5-12 4-4 16; Mandic, Lana 5-13 0-0 11; Serbecic, Benazura 3-9 2-4 8; Gebhardt, Katie 3-8 0-1 7; Allee, Mindy 1-3 4-5 6; Speller, Eboni 2-5 0-2 4; Szabo, Beata 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 28-64 14-22 74.

Kennesaw State................ 44 41 - 85
USC Aiken........................... 29 45 - 74

3-point goals-Kennesaw State 9-22 (Morka, Malgorzata 5-8; Clarke, Shavonder 3-8; Galbiati, D.J. 1-1; Bates, Danielle 0-2; Mieszkowska, Dominik 0-3), USC Aiken 4-13 (Mills, Kasey 2-5; Mandic, Lana 1-3; Gebhardt, Katie 1-3; Speller, Eboni 0-1; Allee, Mindy 0-1). Fouled out—Kennesaw State-Mieszkowska, Dominik, USC Aiken-Serbecic, Benazura. Rebounds-Kennesaw State 40 (Clarke, Shavonder 7), USC Aiken 40 (Mills, Kasey 12). Assists-Kennesaw State 18 (Mieszkowska, Dominik 10), USC Aiken 26 (Allee, Mindy 12). Total fouls-Kennesaw State 19, USC Aiken 20. A-416.